“Stay home, Stay safe” made bearable with Orion Library’s online resources

By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

It has been just over a week since the “Stay home, Stay safe” order was put into place by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. With some people have been in near isolation for much longer than that, staying occupied is a general struggle each day.

Though the majority of businesses and services closed due to last week’s executive order, that’s not to say that resources are not accessible.

The Orion Twp. Public Library is one of these entities that were shut down in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19. While this means that that library is closed to the public for the foreseeable future, this does not mean that Lake Orion residents can’t utilize the library’s long list of online resources.

Online, Orion Twp. residents who have a valid library card have access to audiobooks, ebooks, movies and so much more.

These resources include but are not limited to:

cloudLibrary: Access to downloadable ebooks and audiobooks. Patrons may check out up to ten titles at once for 21 days. Once this time period is up, the content will automatically be removed, therefore, no late fees. The cloudLibrary app is available for iOS, Android , PC/Mac Desktops, NOOK App and Kindle Fire App.

Hoopla: Instant streaming of audiobooks, comic books, ebooks, movies, music and television shows. Patrons will receive six free checkouts per month, no late fees and no hold lists. Hoopla is also available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire HDX.

Overdrive: Instant streaming of ebooks and audiobooks. Patrons can check out up to 10 items at a time and all items will be returned automatically, no late fees. The Overdrive app, “Libby” is available for iOS, Android and Windows 10 plus.

RB Digital: Unlimited instant downloading of digital magazine titles. No late fees and no waitlists. The RB Digital app is available for iOS, Android and Kindle.

Mango Languages: Similar to Duolingo, Mango Languages provides patrons with a way to learn more than 50 languages. Patrons will learn using critical thinking, conversations via native speakers and culture films. Mango Languages is available for free and can be downloaded for iOS and Android.

Kanopy: Stream more than 30,000 films including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films. Patrons may check out four titles per month. Titles are automatically checked out after 72 hours and there are no late fees. Titles can be streamed using a computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast or Roku. An active internet connection is needed.

In addition to the downloadable and streamable content, the Orion Library also has an abundance of educational resources not only for children but for adults too.

For children they offer access to PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next, two resources that covers age appropriate educational content for young children from Pre-K to 6th grade.

Some restrictions for home access have also been removed. Most notably, Ancestry.com can now be fully accessed from your home rather than onsite at the library itself.

Because the availability of these resources is dependant on the amount of technology patrons have access to at home, the library is also working to keep the local Little Libraries stocked with physical copies of books.

Though the library is currently closed to the public, library cards are being approved remotely in order for township residents to gain access to the online resources.

“We are still checking emails regularly, so they can email through the website if they have a question about their account or anything but nothing is due right now, there’s not going to be any fines accrued during this time all the holds that are currently on the hold shelf will still be there when we reopen,” said Library Director Karen Knox. “We’re trying to just keep the status-quo for our patrons in that regard.”

To access the full online resource library visit orionlibrary.org. Patrons will need their library card number (located on the back of their library card) as well as their PIN number. PIN numbers are automatically defaulted to be the last four digits of the phone number on file.

During this time, employees of the library are still responding to emails and voicemails. If you have issues or questions regarding PIN numbers, library card expirations, etc. please call the Orion Twp. Library at 248-693-3000.

 

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